


The Value of Trust

by dontmindme_imafangirl



Series: Klangst Week 2017 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Galra Keith (Voltron), KlangstWeek2017, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, established klance, klangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-10-13 06:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10508178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontmindme_imafangirl/pseuds/dontmindme_imafangirl
Summary: For Klangst Week 2017!Theme for March 29th: Garla/VoltronKeith is keeping a secret.Lance can't stand seeing the person he loves hurt himself and everyone around him.





	

*****  
He felt it more than he understood it.

There were little signs, small ways he conveyed it to him like waves breaking on rocky shores, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Lance noticed the way he’d refuse to look him in the eye, the way he’d open his mouth to speak then stop midway, thinking no one had noticed it. He’d gotten harsher, his words fewer and bitter whenever he allowed himself to talk.

He tried to find when it started, understand when they became… _this._  
When Keith decided he could lie to Lance’s face.

Lance dated it back to when Keith first returned from his mission to the Blade of Marmora’s headquarters, tired and beat up and closed off. He blamed it on the tiredness of the mission and Lance let it slide, putting treating his boyfriend and taking care of his wounds as a priority. Keith held on to his hand all night yet said nothing, billowing himself in the bed covers, ignoring the question in Lance’s eyes.

The rest of the instances were a blur in Lance’s mind, ranging from when Keith had suddenly grown colder, not just towards him but towards everyone in their small battered group, to when they’d be alone, Lance insisting Keith can talk to him, confide in him, only to find a bitter smile on his lips, instantly regretting the moment he opened his mouth.

He tried to put the unsettling feeling at bay, focusing more on their missions and the finalisation of their plan to defeat Zarkon, yet it was always there, sitting uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach, making rebounds to his chest every time Keith looked his way only to look away again, as if regretting the action in the first place.

It took nearly a month until Lance had had enough, finally finding the perfect opportunity on a night when Keith had finished training later than everyone else, the halls of the castle eerily quiet.

He waited until the shorter boy was done with the simulation he was fighting, his movements stiffer and more frantic than Lance had remembered them to be, before making his presence noticeable, making his way to him across the training deck.

“Nice work.”

Keith turned to face him, a foreign hostility on his face.

“Thanks.” he replied, his every step cautious, as if Lance wasn’t the person he loved and cherished but a feral animal.

He sighed, realising this game wouldn’t take them anywhere anytime soon.

“Look, can we talk? Seriously for once, without you avoiding me?”

“Lance-“

“No. Don’t-just don’t avoid me for once.” he looked up, already tasting defeat in his mouth. “Please. We can’t keep hiding behind our thumbs and pretending everything’s alright.”

Keith turned, shying himself away with the excuse of dematerialising his bayard and putting it away.

“There isn’t anything to talk about Lance.”

“Yeah right there isn’t!”

They both stilled at his yell, even Lance himself shocked at the rawness of his voice.   
He didn’t want to get angry, didn’t want to turn this into a fight, but it’d been so _long_ that Keith was in obvious distress yet he wouldn’t confide in him, would refuse to even admit he wasn’t alright, and it _hurt_ , hurt to know Keith didn’t consider him as a person to be trusted, hurt to see the person he loved carry an unseen pain and refuse to share the burden…it all hurt too much and Lance had had enough of dancing around the issue.

“You’re cold to everyone, you won’t tell us what’s going on, every time I ask you if you need something, or when I tell you I’m here for you you just brush it off-Keith, you’re not the only person in this team. You can’t carry your burdens around without sharing them because you think everyone else is better off not knowing.”

Keith halted, facing Lance with the corner of his eye.  
“What if they are?”

“What if they are better off not knowing?” he continued when Lance remained quiet, question evident in his expression. “What if I _know_ that keeping things to myself is for the best, and not letting _you_ know is also for your sake?”

He stared on, letting the words sink into Lance.

“Is that what this is about?” he started, feeling anger pool up at the bottom of his ribcage, “Is this it? You think you’re being a great saviour, doing as a _favour_ by pushing everyone away?”

Keith reached out, about to say something but Lance cut him off, the anger now sweltering, melting glaciers in his chest.

“You think we’re of so little trust that you can’t even tell us what’s wrong? Is that how much this team is worth to you? How much _I’m_ worth to you?”

“Lance no-“

“You can’t trust me.”

He didn’t ask. Didn’t wait for a response. One look at Keith and he knew he’d hit the last nail on the coffin, knew he was _right_ , as much as it hurt.

“I love you Keith, you know I do. But if our relationship isn’t even worth your trust-then, then I don’t know if it can even go on.”

He left without a response, letting the silence in the training deck be his answer.

He wasn’t worth Keith’s time, Keith’s trust.  
He wasn’t worth anything.

*****  
It was mid battle when he found out, their plan to defeat Zarkon momentarily put at bay as they helped another planet get freed from the Garla’s grip.

Things were going well, the bigger monsters that the Garla had thrown their way were defeated, and they were fighting through the remainder robots set up by the druids before their rush retreat.

Yet one mishap, one small side step from his end, found Lance tumbling down under the sheer force of one of the robots, the others in its vicinity quickly catching whiff of fallen prey and rushing to aid in its defeat.  
He managed to shoot a few of the glowing purple machines surrounding him, almost ready to get back up to his feet before a scorching pain burst at his ribs, making him scream out despite his best efforts not to-the last thing he needed was to alert more of these… _things_ of his presence.

His bayard was knocked off of his hands, dematerialising as it ended up across the floor of the Garla control room he’d found himself in.

There was a primitive fear beneath his eyes, a tremble he tried to conceal, tried to push down, refusing to meet his demise without holding on to the pride that had kept him going this long.

He shut his eyes in surrender, only to sense a pulsing purple glow beneath his eyelids, hear the slash of metals from above him.

“-ance”  
“Lance. Lance!”

He opened his eyes, blinking slow before widening, tugging and pushing at the person whose arms he’d found himself in.

“Lance just-calm down dammit, are you alright? Did you get hit?”

He-this wasn’t-it couldn’t be.  
This was Keith’s voice but this…this wasn’t Keith.

The person in front of him had _fangs_ , razor sharp teeth, eyes glowing a fierce yellow, his skin pulsing an equally glowing purple that seemed to dematerialise at points, merging with the pale tone he knew to be of the boy he’d loved, the boy he _trusted-_

Keith must’ve noticed his discomfort, turning to face his reflection in a big chunk of metal that was once a control board. 

The Garlan- _Keith_ , he had to remind himself, _this is Keith_ sighed, turning to face him with what he could only describe as a bitter smile.

“I-I didn’t want you to find out this way.”

“No. You didn’t want me to find out at all.”

He noticed Keith flinch, but paid no mind, putting every fibre of his being into pushing through the pain at his side in order to get up, slapping Keith’s arms away with one hand when the boy leaned near to stabilise him.

“Was this your big secret? The one you couldn’t trust us with?”

Keith bit his lip but said nothing, letting the hurt swell inside of Lance’s broken sides.

“You thought-what, that I’d hate you? That anyone would? Is that how much love you thought I have for you? That that’s as far as our trust to you went?”

“I’m not expecting you to understand.” his voice was raw, strained over the yells of battle, “But it’s not something I could just _tell you_. I was scared.”

“No Keith. You weren’t scared. You just didn’t trust me. And that-“ he pushed him away once again, when he stumbled backwards from the dizzying pain, “And that hurts. Hurts far more than anything else could’ve.”

“It’s not-I _do trust you_ -“

He raised a hand, shaking his head and willing the falling tears off of his face.

“If you trusted me, you would have told me. Even if it hurt, even if you were terrified. If you trusted me you wouldn’t have kept it a secret.”

He put his pride to use, turning to leave with fumbling steps.   
Keith’s voice echoed behind him, the pulse in his ears drowning out the sounds with each step.

_That’s how much I’m worth to you._ he thought before collapsing, letting the voices of his concerned crew mates lull him to a fitful rest.

_That’s how much I’m worth to you_ he thought, and stopped fighting the tears any longer, the pulse behind his eyes dropping to a still.

_I’m worth nothing to you._ was his last thought before the world went black, the last image in the back of his brain being of the small shy smile _he_ had given him when he first said he’d loved him, so foreign when contrasted to the one he’d just bared witness to.

_I’m worth nothing to you_ he thought, and let the darkness take him.

******

**Author's Note:**

> I really like angst in case you didn't notice~  
> I'm not really happy with how this came out but it was still fun writing it nonetheless!   
> See you guys at the next update~ I won't be doing all the themes because I came into this week late (wasn't aware that Klangst Week was a thing unfortunately) but I'm uploading the themes I do write here as well as on my tumblr! (dontmindme-imafangirl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Hope you guys like it! <3


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